The Convention

The “Convention on the Use of Space” is a legal instrument to support the use value of housing and occupied space over vacancy and speculation. Read the complete convention below or learn more about it in our Q&A.Learn more »

Acknowledging that this legal document is a continuous collective process subject to yearly review;

The adherers to this Convention,

Considering that space insofar as it is a scarce resource in relation to the common good, should be addressed according to use-value principles;

Considering that the use of space for financial accumulation based on its exchange-value cannot interfere with the use-value of space;

Considering that housing, as granted by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights under the Right to Adequate Housing (2009), entails protection from forced eviction irrespective of title;

Recognizing that varying forms of occupation are reactions to the social-economic circumstances that produce inequality, vacancy, gentrification and displacement, limit access to affordable space, and therefore, should not be criminalised;

Considering that a community right to use, and a grass-root management of space should be acknowledged, in accordance with the World Charter for the Right to the City (2004);

Considering that the Real estate sector and the Commercial Vacancy Industry stimulate speculation on the value increase of property with the prospect of financial securitisation, effectively sustaining rightlessness and reproducing the social-economic circumstances that lead to inequality, vacancy, gentrification, displacement and limiting access to affordable space;

Considering that detailed knowledge of public and private Real estate development, including plans, urban impact assessments, transparency in contract awarding, should be publicly accessible to provide for accountability and effective tools for arbitration, allowing for local communities to utilize their right to challenge;

Considering that the enjoyment of rights within this Convention should be secured without discrimination on grounds of race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, ability, religion, age, nationality, employment, income, social origin or migration status,

Notes - Preamble

The convention was written by many and will be reviewed annually.

Space should be considered a “good” which cannot be made scarce for profit by any individual or entity. The “price” of a space, the value of rent or purchase, should not be more important than the value that can be produced through its use.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, under the Right to Adequate Housing (2009), states that:The right to adequate housing is broader than the right to own property as it addresses rights not related to ownership and is intended to ensure that everyone has a safe and secure place to live in peace and dignity, including non-owners of property. Security of tenure, the cornerstone of the right to adequate housing, can take a variety of forms, including rental accommodation, cooperative housing, lease, owner-occupation, emergency housing, or informal settlements. As such, it is not limited to the conferral of formal legal titles.

Squatting and the occupation of space, temporarily or in the long-term, is a reaction to rising rents, speculation, and the privatisation of social housing that causes people to be displaced from their neighbourhoods. It is a reaction to an unjust system which pushes the less wealthy out of their environments and does not allow for a truly democratic enjoyment of space; therefore, the reclamation of space for use through squatting and occupation cannot be considered “criminal”.

The “World Charter for the Right to the City” (2004), written via the World Social Forum, states that urban dwellers should be allowed to participate more closely in planning their environments; the process of allocation and sale of space, which inevitably affects neighborhoods, should be transparent. When large transactions happen, information must be readily available for city dwellers to know what their rights are, and in order to be able to contest how the space will be used.

Real estate speculation (buying a house or space purely in order to profit from its resale or rent) and “anti-squats” (companies that profit from renting out empty buildings) are part of the issue that is making cities less affordable to live in and leaving fewer options for those who do not have the capital or do not want to partake in these systems.

This convention can be supported, abided by, and signed by all, without discrimination based on their race, sexual orientation, whether they identify as suffering from a medical condition (physical or mental), how old they are, how much they earn, where they come from, what faith they practice, and whether they are in the country with or without the legal right to be there.

This convention addresses the position of a multitude of groups, individuals and practices that produce an alternative to the notion of property, appropriation, accumulation exploitation and individualisation in contemporary societies; hereby referred to as ‘use-value of space’ and defined in article 3 of this Convention;

Parties to this Convention are the addressees as defined in paragraph one, without discrimination on grounds of race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, ability, religion, age, nationality, employment, income, social origin or migration status;

Each party shall actively take measures to respect, promote and realize the right to use of space within the scope of this Convention.

Notes - Article 1 - Parties to the Convention

This convention has been written for people (groups or individuals) who create value out of the use of a space rather than for economic profit. All those who sign the convention pledge to respect, spread, and strive towards the realisation of its aims

Those who, within the scope and spirit of this convention, infringe on property rights intended as the exclusive rights of use over tangible and intangible assets, for uses a-j mentioned in article 3, do not pose a threat to national security, the economic wellbeing of a country, provoke disorder and crime as related in article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, and therefore should not be subject to criminalization;

The ‘rightful claimant’ is hereby defined as they who utilize/ occupy a vacant space as defined in article 3, independently of how such space is obtained: through climbing in, the use of false keys, a false costume; with or without knowledge of the title holder as referred to in article 138 of the Dutch Criminal Code. This practice is encouraged in groups, in accordance with the spirit of the Convention;

By no means and under no circumstance shall an officer of the law forcibly remove the rightful claimant as defined under paragraph 2, or material objects found in the space, as referred to in article 551a of the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure. Contested occupation will be addressed in accordance with article 3, paragraph 4.

Notes - Article 2 - Rightful Claimant

In regards to the ‘right to private and family life’, Article 8, paragraph 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights states:There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

Meaning that the right to respect for private and family life can be breached by “an authority” in case a threat to “national security, public safety, the economic well-being of a country” is perceived, or in case those attempting to protect themselves from eviction could provoke “disorderly” or “criminal” conduct, as well as a threat to the “morality” and “health” of others.

The way this article is used in the “Convention on the Use of Space” highlights that the breach of a property right, for the uses outlined in the convention, is never a breach of any of the above, as the uses of space supported in this convention are “social use-values.” Therefore, under no circumstance, can those using this convention to protect themselves against eviction be removed with force.

Contestation of a use of space can occur, however, and it will be dealt with according to Article 3, paragraph 4 of the convention.

For the distribution of space according to use-value principles in view of creating and/or protecting the commons, defined as the cultural, habitable and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, held in common, without discrimination, irrespective of title, through radical democracy;The types of use-value production, within the scope of this convention, are defined as for:

Residential living, as the centre of one’s existence;

Occupation for the purposes of political pressure, social responsibility and solidarity;

The production of spaces of experimentation, in relationship to commoning, decision making processes, organization;

Activities engaging in expanding access, in relationship to health, ability and with the intent to offer support;

Purposes of ecological and environmental sustainability, including the preservation of resources, flora and fauna;

Production of community and common practices, including spirituality, art and culture;

Production and sharing of knowledge and skills in a pedagogical environment;

Production of goods and services following cooperative, local, not-for-profit, socially and environmentally sustainable principles, engaging workers regardless of legal status or the legal right to work to ensure the means for unalienated reproductive labour, with the intent to reduce precarity, and for the temporary storage of goods related to these services;

Spaces used for purposes of Commercial Vacancy Industry, where the user adheres to the Convention, relinquishing the contractual basis for its previous use;

Spaces in preparation and realisation of refurbishment, insofar as reasonably necessary in duration;

Uses mentioned under a-j, in accordance with the principles of this Convention, cannot be subject to eviction but may be subject to contestation, as mentioned in paragraph 5;

Uses under paragraph 1, a-j will not be recognized under this Convention if employed for purposes of personal financial accumulation;

Acknowledging that the right of use is a collective endeavour, aimed at producing a collective use-value (‘social use values’); these values need to be collectively decided-upon following transparent decision-making processes as defined in Article 5;

Uses under a-j that have been established in spaces that are not vacant according to article 4, are subject to principles of proportionality and subsidiarity. Contestation of the application of these principles will be subject to arbitration under article 5.

Notes - Article 3 - Use-value of Space

Space should be distributed according to its use and the social values created within it. Its uses should be geared toward protecting the availability of space for all, irrespective of ownership, and managed through democratic principles.

The types of use which are defined as “social” under this convention are:

living

occupying or squatting for political reasons or in solidarity with other causes

allowing for spaces which do not depend on profit to exist

supporting others who identify themselves as in need of support, both physically and mentally

protecting the environment

getting together, including for worship and cultural reasons

sharing knowledge and skills

producing things and services in a cooperative way, such as worker-owned and managed spaces, based on local networks of production, in environmentally sustainable ways, that allow those who do not have the legal right to work to be employed,
with the intent to offer stable and just ways of working that offer long-term security and rights

storing things related to this manner of working

by those who are currently under anti-squat contracts, who, by signing this convention, void their anti-squat contract

refurbishment in between the uses mentioned above

None of the uses above can be used for private gain or profit.

Occupied spaces that were not “empty” as defined by the convention, are subject to “proportionality” and “subsidiarity”—in other words, weighing the benefits of the use against the harm done to the previous occupier.

The spaces defined as ‘vacant’ under the terms of this convention, are:

Terminated use, 6 months after use has come to an end, unless the owner or rightful claimant (of uses mentioned under article 3, paragraph 1, a-j), can provide evidence of a concrete prospect of imminent production of use-value, in which case contestation can be arbitrated under article 5;

Terminated use, less than 6 months after it has come to an end, in the absence of a prospect of use-value production, e.g. demolition;

Underused space defined as less than 1 person per 50 square meters where use-value production will not negatively impact uses under article 3, paragraph 1, a-j;

Spaces defined as vacant under this article can be subject to occupation under article 3, paragraph 1, a-j.

Notes - Article 4 - Vacant Space

Spaces considered empty, are spaces that have no concrete evidence of a future plan to produce use-value, six months after their last use has come to an end. If there is no evidence of a concrete plan to make social use-value of a space, the space is considered empty before the six months is over (for example a space that is to be demolished).

Less than 1 person per 50 square meters is considered an under-used space, unless the space is being used under Article 2, this space is to be considered empty.

Spaces considered empty can be subject to occupation for purposes defined in Article 2.

Notes - Article 5 - Arbitration

In case of contestation, a disagreement on how a space is used:

the occupants and those in disagreement are invited to negotiate, where the Local Maintenance Fund (LMF) exists, the LMF should be involved. Uses highlighted in the convention are considered of a higher value than other uses; this should be taken into account when negotiating.

Parties to this convention are encouraged to create or adhere through membership to a ‘Local Maintenance Fund’ intended to guarantee long-term usability of space in absence of title;

Spaces will be maintained to a standard that the user finds acceptable, hereby referred to as the ‘living-condition’; if the user ceases to find the living-condition acceptable they may apply to a collective fund, hereby referred to as the ‘Local Maintenance Fund’;

The Local Maintenance Fund is managed by the parties to this Convention, as defined in article 5, through a transparent decision-making process;

The maintenance fund is administered and capped by the parties according to need and urgency of request; and is secured without discrimination on grounds of race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, ability, religion, age, nationality, employment, income, social origin or migration status;

All users contribute to the fund according to a sliding scale user-fee;

In case of the necessity to vacate a space the Local Maintenance Fund will offer temporary housing, with the intent to uphold the ‘right to return’. In case the right to return cannot be upheld parties to the convention will provide alternative space in accordance with the spirit of the Convention;

Participation to the Local Maintenance Fund can be refused if the user intends to and is able to carry out repairs autonomously, or offer time, material or skills;

In case of major refurbishment work the Local Maintenance Fund, and consequent work, can be delivered in order to guarantee long-term usability of space;

The objectives of the Local Maintenance Fund are to be further described in a Local Maintenance Fund Charter.

Notes - Article 6 - Local Maintenance Fund

All those who support and sign this convention are encouraged to open a LMF, or to become part of an LMF if it exists in the area. The LMF is there to guarantee that spaces do not fall into disrepair there where there is not enough capital to carry out major refurbishment. One can also contribute to membership through lending skills, materials, or time to the LMF.

Spaces will be maintained to a standard that the occupier sees as fit for living. When this standard falls below what the occupier sees as fitting, the occupier can apply for help through the LMF. Where this standard is hazardous to others (major structural work needed), the LMF and signees to the convention agree to find temporary housing for those who have to move and to return spaces to those who have had to move, once the repairs are over. A LMF charter, which describes the LMF further, will be drawn up in the future.

Campaign Tools

Please help us spread the Convention! You can download, print and share the convention as a document, along with its guide. Also available are A1 posters of the whole convention in English and A3 posters of single articles in Dutch.